Brexit: Sammy Wilson says Brussels trying to humiliate Theresa May

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Published:06:45Tuesday 16 October 2018

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The EU’s proposal for a so-called ‘backstop to the backstop’ arrangement is an attempt to “further humiliate” Theresa May and the United Kingdom, Sammy Wilson has claimed.

In her statement to the Commons yesterday, the prime minister said Brussels had “responded positively” to her suggestion that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the UK would remain temporarily in a countrywide “customs solution”.

Sammy Wilson

But EU negotiators told her there was not enough time to work out the detail in the next few weeks and demanded the existing Northern Irish backstop – in which the Province would remain in the customs union after Brexit – be retained.

She told the Commons: “The EU still requires a ‘backstop to the backstop’ – effectively an insurance policy for the insurance policy. And they want this to be the Northern Ireland-only solution that they had previously proposed.

“We have been clear that we cannot agree to anything which threatens the integrity of our United Kingdom.”

DUP Brexit spokesperson Mr Wilson said the EU’s counter-proposal was “yet another indication of Brussels intransigence”.

“They are just seeking to stick the knife in further,” he told the News Letter.

“They have decided that the best way to warn anyone who tries to leave the EU is to humiliate your leader and seek to cause as much disruption as possible. They are doing this because the UK government has not stood up to them.

“It looks more and more likely that no deal with be the outcome.”

Mr Wilson yesterday took part in anti-Chequers rally in Bournemouth, alongside other prominent Brexiteers including Nigel Farage and some Tory politicians.

The event is part of a series of rallys being held across Great Britain, organised by the ‘Leave Means Leave’ campaign group.